Ranks of Free Syrian Army 'gaining strength'

Ranks of Free Syrian Army 'gaining strength'
China's nuclear arsenal 'many times larger'
Medvedev hails "equal competition" ahead of vote (AP)
VIDEO: Argentina enjoying economic boom
A Tale of Plagiarism: So Avoidable, So Detectable
Fugitive ex-Thai PM to get passport back soon: minister
Geoengineering could save Earth — or destroy it (AP)
Afghan woman, jailed for being raped, wins pardon (Reuters)
Australian police worker faces child porn charges (AP)
Lawyer says Gbagbo treated 'brutally'
Afghan woman, jailed for being raped, wins pardon
Head of famed embroidery house Lesage dies at 82 (AP)
Australia to Introduce Identical Cigarette Packaging (Time.com)
Europe's Race to the Bottom: How Austerity is Killing the Euro (Time.com)
Thailand cleans up, but some areas remain flooded (AP)
Burma's New Hope: A Repressive Regime Loosens Its Grip (for Now) (Time.com)
Top 5 Health Expenses You Didn't Know Could Be Tax Free
MakerGear for Digital and Personal Fabrication
Coke says child's death in China not linked to product
Clinton reinforces ties with Suu Kyi

Posted: 01 Dec 2011 11:09 PM PST

Army defectors tell Al Jazeera they left the government side because they were forced to shoot at unarmed protesters.

China's nuclear arsenal 'many times larger'

Posted: 01 Dec 2011 10:51 PM PST

A US report uses open-source material to conclude that the country has 3,000 warheads, not 400 as previously estimated.

Medvedev hails "equal competition" ahead of vote (AP)

Posted: 01 Dec 2011 10:34 PM PST

AP - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev says the nation's political parties enjoyed "free and equal competition" ahead of Sunday's parliamentary election, while voters complain of record violations of election law by the main pro-Kremlin party.

VIDEO: Argentina enjoying economic boom

Posted: 01 Dec 2011 10:35 PM PST

Whilst many countries are suffering from an economic downturn there are some which are growing rapidly, including Argentina. But only a decade ago Argentina defaulted on its foreign debts.

A Tale of Plagiarism: So Avoidable, So Detectable

Posted: 01 Dec 2011 10:16 PM PST

There's nothing worse for an author than opening a book, reading its pages, and discovering passages from your own work used as if they were that author's words. This just happened to me with someone else?s newly released book. After recognizing my own writing and research from one of my books in this new book, ...

Fugitive ex-Thai PM to get passport back soon: minister

Posted: 01 Dec 2011 10:29 PM PST

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thailand's self-exiled, fugitive former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra could be reissued his Thai passport within weeks as a "New Year present" from the government, the country's foreign minister said on Friday.

Geoengineering could save Earth — or destroy it (AP)

Posted: 01 Dec 2011 09:47 PM PST

AP - Brighten clouds with sea water? Spray aerosols high in the stratosphere? Paint roofs white and plant light-colored crops? How about positioning "sun shades" over the Earth?

Afghan woman, jailed for being raped, wins pardon (Reuters)

Posted: 01 Dec 2011 10:05 PM PST

Reuters - Afghanistan has pardoned a woman who was raped by a family member but then jailed for adultery, a statement from the presidential palace has said, in a case that highlights deep concerns about women's rights in the country.

Australian police worker faces child porn charges (AP)

Posted: 01 Dec 2011 09:29 PM PST

AP - A man who once worked for the Australian Federal Police has been arrested after police said they found more than 35,000 child pornography photos in his home.

Lawyer says Gbagbo treated 'brutally'

Posted: 01 Dec 2011 11:10 PM PST

Legal representative for ex-Ivorian leader calls arrest of his client - facing war-crimes charges at ICC - "illegal".

Afghan woman, jailed for being raped, wins pardon

Posted: 01 Dec 2011 10:05 PM PST

KABUL (Reuters) - Afghanistan has pardoned a woman who was raped by a family member but then jailed for adultery, a statement from the presidential palace has said, in a case that highlights deep concerns about women's rights in the country.

Head of famed embroidery house Lesage dies at 82 (AP)

Posted: 01 Dec 2011 08:49 PM PST

AP - Francois Lesage, the heir of the legendary Maison Lesage embroidery atelier which has long been embellishing Paris couture houses' most fantastic creations, died Thursday, the house said. He was 82 years old.

Australia to Introduce Identical Cigarette Packaging (Time.com)

Posted: 01 Dec 2011 10:05 PM PST

Time.com - Philip Morris is suing the Australian government over a law mandating drab green packaging for cigarettes. The industry worries it could hurt business. The government hopes it will

Europe's Race to the Bottom: How Austerity is Killing the Euro (Time.com)

Posted: 01 Dec 2011 10:05 PM PST

Time.com - Stock markets may have soared after central banks around the world got together to provide more dollars to Europe's strained financial sector. But we also got an indication of just how bad things have become

Thailand cleans up, but some areas remain flooded (AP)

Posted: 01 Dec 2011 09:23 PM PST

AP - As Thailand's floodwaters continue their slow journey to the sea, large swaths of the country have drained and dried, leaving behind a stinky, thick grime on everything touched by the nation's worst deluge in more than a half century.

Burma's New Hope: A Repressive Regime Loosens Its Grip (for Now) (Time.com)

Posted: 01 Dec 2011 08:20 PM PST

Time.com - Hillary Clinton's visit to Burma, which continues through Dec. 2, is the first by a U.S. Secretary of State in more than half a century

Top 5 Health Expenses You Didn't Know Could Be Tax Free

Posted: 01 Dec 2011 08:36 PM PST

Personal finance expert for women Manisha Thakor provides 5 suggestions of (surprising!) items you can spend year end FSA (Flexible Spending Account) dollars on.

MakerGear for Digital and Personal Fabrication

Posted: 01 Dec 2011 08:21 PM PST

Desktop manufacturing is a term that MakerGear.com founder Rick Pollack uses several times in our conversation. ??The 5-person company based in Ohio is empowering others to join the Do-It-Yourself (DIY) movement of desktop or personal manufacturing. Need a part, design and print it yourself. 3D printing is something this blog and Forbes has talked about ...

Coke says child's death in China not linked to product

Posted: 01 Dec 2011 08:36 PM PST

BEIJING (Reuters) - Coca-Cola Co defended on Friday the safety of its yogurt drinks sold in northern China, denying there was any link to the death of a child or the illness of three other people who had consumed the drinks, but said it removed the product from shelves in a precautionary move.